As excitement over Google Glass builds, we all really need to take a step back and seriously think about how the new technology will impact our lives. Sure, having directions and face recognition always accessible could be kind of neat. But if you're already annoyed with people using smartphones and tablets as cameras, imagine a world where everyone's filming everything with their glasses.

As this parody/probably incredibly accurate vision of the future illustrates, amateur photographers are going to get even more insufferable with access to Google Glass. From sticking their faces in plates of food to Instagram their meals, to staring at a skyline for hours like braindead zombies to capture a timelapse, to generally making us all hope that Glass ends up failing and going away very quickly.

If there's one thing the popularity of GoPro cameras have given mankind, it's the ability to enjoy near-death experiences from a safe and comfortable remote vantage point. Like Erik Roner, who was kind enough to strap a couple of GoPros on as he drove a snowmobile off the edge of a cliff so we can all experience what it's like to almost end our lives prematurely.

Thankfully Eric, an experienced base jumper, was wearing a parachute and safely survived the plunge. His ride, of course, didn't.

But that's ok. The stunt actually had a bittersweet side to it, since the snowmobile Roner was riding belonged to his late friend and fellow extreme athlete, Shane McConkey, who died in a skiing accident in 2009. And while McConkey's snowmobile will never be ridden again, the snowmobile's extreme retirement party was a particularly apropos way to further memorialize a legend of extreme sports.

For some, barbecuing is simply a means to heat food that involves the opportunity to play with fire. For others, it's as serious an operation as open heart surgery. And if the act of grilling a steak is far more important to you than actually eating one, you won't ever want to go near a BBQ again without this tactical apron backing you up.

Is it over the top and ridiculous? Absolutely. Is that what makes it so awesome? Most definitely. It of course won't protect you from bullets or other combat-related risks, but splattered grease and hot popping coals won't bother you when wrapped up in this all-cotton outer layer. The $35 apron, which debuted on ThinkGeek today, also includes two large pouches and three smaller ones that can be arranged and attached anywhere for maximum convenience. And in case someone forgets their place and tries to intervene at the grill, the apron is emblazoned with 'Chef' on the front and back to remind everyone who's in charge of the situation.

[ThinkGeek]

Most clawed crustaceans use their pincers like a pair of deadly scissors, either for defense or tearing apart their prey. But the Pistol Shrimp has developed a far more devastating use for it. Its claw is able to open and snap shut with enough force to create a cavitation shockwave that kills fish and even heats the water to an impossible 7,000+ degrees fahrenheit. If any creature was meant to be studied in slow motion, this is it.

The Pistol Shrimp's pincer closes so fast, in fact, that the team at BBC Earth Productions had to crank their high-speed camera to 10,000 frames per second to just barely capture it snapping shut. And while the shockwave it creates is tiny, these shrimp have actually been known to interrupt underwater ship-to-ship sonar communications where they congregate. So maybe there's the potential here for the Navy to breed and deploy a small army of sonar scramblers.

It was impressive enough when toymakers found a way to make remote control helicopters small and safe enough to fly around indoors. But their miniaturization efforts continue on as toymaker Silverlit introduces the Nano-Falcon, an RC chopper so tiny that Guinness has officially granted it the world record for smallest IR-controlled helicopter.

At just over two-and-a-half inches long, the Nano-Falcon has certainly earned that title. A lot of its internal components and electronics were made possible by advancements and miniaturization of smartphone technology, and despite its tiny form factor the Nano-Falcon is still fully maneuverable with the IR controller that dwarfs the craft. When it becomes available next month it will sell for around $46, but your newfound ability to discreetly buzz and annoy co-workers? That's priceless.

[Silverlit via Tech-on!]

Microsoft's Kinect provided gamers with a hands-free way to play their favorite titles. But when the controller was removed from the situation, so was the haptic force feedback that can enhance gameplay. Most of us were ok with the tradeoff, but not the Imagineers at Disney Research who've come up with a way to provide tactile force feedback using nothing but targeted puffs of air.

The Aireal system, as they've called it, works alongside a Kinect-equipped Xbox sending tiny high-speed vortexes of air towards the player that coincide with the action on screen. The air cannon has access to all of the Kinect's 3D data too, so it's able to continuously track and target the player no matter how active they get. And, more importantly, it paves the way for Kinect-controlled air conditioners that guarantee you're always in the path of a chilly blast no matter where you are in a room.

[Aireal via Geek]

They hear it through the entire movie, but most theater goers don't pay close attention to one of the most important supporting players in a film: the soundtrack. It's as important for building tension and excitement as the actors' performances, and the Soundworks Collection took a closer look at what went into the music behind Star Trek Into Darkness.

As much as Star Trek fans are endlessly devoted to characters like Kirk and Spock, they'd be hard pressed to feel any connection at all to the franchise if it wasn't for the work that composer Michael Giacchino—and those who've scored past Trek adventures—put into the films and series. [Soundworks Collection]

If your kitchen lacks a dishwasher, you'll do everything you can to reduce the amount of dishes you dirty. From eating directly off the counter, to drinking everything from the container, to making tea with this ingenious $21 Loop strainer that doubles as a scoop so you don't need to dirty a spoon.

Its sliding mesh lid can be removed so it's easy to clean—if and when you succumb to finally doing the dishes. But there's nothing stopping you from first repurposing it as a soup spoon followed by an ice cream scoop before you finally give in. [95% Shop via BLTD]

It's not as exciting as seeing Big Dog or Petman in action, but infantry in the US Army should be happy now that DARPA's begun testing its Warrior Web support system. One day robotic exoskeletons will allow humans to easily lift and carry hundreds of pounds, but for the immediate future DARPA has set its sights on a more immediately achievable goal with what could be described as the future of supportive undergarments.

Designed to be worn underneath a soldier's existing uniform as an unobtrusive second skin, the Warrior Web system is composed of sensors and components designed to provide extra support when needed. In addition to better distributing a soldier's heavy pack across his body, the system also features supports that can stiffen as needed to provide extra strength in the joints to minimize injury and maximize performance.

And while the military is just only starting to test the system, it has the potential to be used on the battlefield in a manner of years instead of decades for more advanced technologies.

[DARPA]